KOTC originally came out in 2009, but Pierre has only just brought it to steam.

It's an RPG with turn based combat based on the OGL 3.5 rules, this means it doesn't have any DnD copyrighted entities, but it does play quite closely to the ruleset.

This is very much a combat focused RPG and the story is really just an excuse to propel you into interesting combat encounters. Some of these encounters are quite hard, especially at a low level, so don't be surprised if you need to reload a lot in the early game with low level characters.

Despite having a similar graphical style to Ultima 6/7, the game is much closer to Troika's Temple of elemental evil released in 2003. Both are games with turn based implementations of 3.5 based systems.

Overall I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of tabletop RPGs and turn based combat. It requires some patience as it has quite a clunky (and often non-existent) UI, but if you give it a chance it will impress you with some fine encounter design.

Look beyond the simples graphics and you have one of the best tactical RPGs ever made.

If you like Dungeons & Dragons this game is mandatory, and delivers that old-school adventure experience from classic D&D modules. The combat rules are expertly implemented, with interesting encounters and a great AI that will make full use of all spells, tactics and feats. My only complain is that you only have 3 classes to pick from, and that crafting is OP.

I bought this when it was only available on Pierre's site and wanted to leave my thoughts here.KotC is a fantastic OGL 3.5e game for fighting through good encounters with a great combat system. It's a great game for those new to 3.5e and derivatives as it has a wonderful built in manual that allows you to right click just about anything and get a breakdown of what modifies it and how it works. Many much more popular CRPGs like Neverwinter Nights for example could use such a feature!

KotC is not very story heavy, so do not go in expecting PlaneScape Torment or even Baldur's Gate. The story is barebones, interaction with NPCs are limited, and everything serves the purpose of getting into interesting encounters. The one positive for NPC interactions are that they can change the encounter quite a bit at times, with things like letting you sneak past encounters, telling you secrets to help with difficult monsters, making fights more difficult (and rewarding), or simply gating encounters.

The combat is a very pure interpretation of 3.5e in a turn based, square grid system that lets you specify where each of your extra attacks go and which precise tile you'll step to to get the optimal surround. Enemy AI is more than adequate although sometimes hardcoded behavior (like pushing you into things) can be exploited.

Progression is your standard D&D affair, although crafting feats (which only require a masterwork weapon, gold, and experience) can make the later parts trivial due to the huge experience granting random encounters which let everyone have +5 vorpal blades or whatever else you choose. There are very few shops so if you decide to specialize in a specific weapon (dual shortswords for one of my fighters in my case) you could end up using a non-masterwork one for a long time.

The weird perspective takes some getting used to, and getting around maps can be slow and tedius sometimes. My biggest complaint is the hyper focus that reduces player choice. There are three classes: Wizard, Cleric, and Fighter. There are only a handful of towns. Some encounters feel like they're impossible on your first try and trivial once you figure out the gimmick.

If you like tactical RPG combat, classic 3.5e progression and combat rules, well designed encounters, and slightly baffling choices here and there you could do a lot worse than this game. A sequel is in the works and should have a kickstarter a few weeks/months (The developer is usually extremely drawn out in everything he does, timewise) which looks to be focused heavily on community made content and distilling what made Temple of Elemental Evil and Neverwinter Nights so good into one easily modable package.

Have you ever played a game were your heroes are ambushed by a group of orcs hiding in tall grass, your knights fending off the close assailats while your mages are pinned down by enemy archers?Have you ever looked for slave lords in a dungeon beneath a corrupt city, surviving after countless traps by using your scarce memorized spells which you will desperately need in the final confrontation?Can you boast of laying waste a legion of spellcasting constructs to get to the king giant terrorizing innocent villagers?Do you find fascinating the idea of challenging a lich in his tower and turning the tide of the battle by mind controlling his undead minions?

It is easy to describe Knight of to Chalice to the audience as a turn-based RPG based on OGL 3.5, since there are plenty of games which are turn-based or based on DnD. But the main ingredient which separates this game from other indie shovelware with pixelated graphic has considerably fewer examples where it can be found. I am talking about the incredible encounter design.

This requires a genuine understanding (and eventually adapting!) of the employed ruleset and creativity in utilizing the available enemy types to craft challenging but not cheap scenarios which are fun to overcome. And I dare to say that the creator of this game gave a superb proof of these qualities.

If what I wrote above aroused you interest please try the demo: it is very short (about 2 hours) and it gives a complete idea of what you should expect from the game. The joy of having your wizard transformed from a poor addition to your party to a fireball-hurling murder machine is there. The frustation of having such magician incapacitated by enemies surrounding you and going actively for his throat is undoubtedly there! The AI can use cleverly every move and spell included and it will surely surprise you.

If you are new to DnD and you worry that learning all the rules will be tedious: do not fear. The game contains an extensive guide of the ruleset structured via hyperlinks which can be easily consulted anytime, even during a battle. Moreover at the level-up screen for each character there are competent suggestions for the feats and spells you should choose: in this way the neophyte is promptly guided and he can learn the basics via trial and error in a few minutes, moreover the intricacies can be looked up when needed without resorting to memorizing any obscure regulation.

To conclude: play this game! It is a tactical RPG that it is not regarded among the classics only for its obscurity. This Steam release is the late opportunity to make it known among the large public. Because every person who already played it could not say to be deluded but on the contrary discovered the proverbial hidden gem.

Heard a lot of good things about the game over the years but never tried it before. So when it got released on Steam it was a D1 purchase for me and i got to say i wasnt dissapointed.The graphics are dated but the game delivers on so many fronts.In game help (actually its the manual) is amazing, so much information thats organized and readily available.Excellent indie game, recommended.

Also, there is a Knights of the Chalice 2 in the works, so keep an eye on that too. :)

One of the absolute best implementations of the 3.5 D&D ruleset in a videogame ever. Excellent presentation, in-depth and informative UI, superb combat and encounter design, fun progression, great exploration. Any fan of classic CRPGs owes it to themselves to buy this game and support games like this being made.

Do you like DnD 3.5?Do you fondly remember games like Dark Sun Shattered Lands or Temple of Elemental Evil?Are you partial to turn-based tactical combat games?Does the idea to "kill lots of bad foozles, take their stuff and sell it to have the money to craft overpowered equipment to kill lots of even bigger bad foozles and take their stuff too" appeal to you?

If the answer to these question is yes then this is a must play.If you need a long, comprehensive review read this.[rpgcodex.net]

BRIEF REVIEWKnights of the Chalice (KotC) is a party-based turn-based OGL 3.5-based (making it a sorta D&D 3.5-based) RPG. After languishing in obscurity on its author's website for about a decade, the author finally ported it to Steam and patched certain things! (Some of them were handy, like being able to pick a feat and its prereq at the same character level then swap out the prereq feat to no ill effect.)

KotC is primarily a tactical combat game. It's difficult, but fair. Imagine a D&D version of Final Fantasy Tactics, but with fewer choices and a mostly absent or nonsensical story.

I recommend this game on these bases:-I like D&D 3.5.-I want to support the game's author and the sequel in development.-I enjoy tactical combat challenges.

If these points appeal too little to you, reverse my recommendation. Otherwise, keep that thumbs up and enjoy the tactical challenges!